Can you recommend anti virus software?

My McAfee security centre is due for renewal in a week or so and was wondering if anyone could recommend a suitable and reliable replacement. I've heard that McAfee can be a system hog, so I'd maybe like to try something a little less resource hungry although I don't want to compromise on effectiveness. I'm currently using Windows XP.

Thanks in advance!

 

Any opinions on Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6.0?

 

An excellent choice for a paid AV. You may also wish to checkout Nod32. Very highly rated.

 

Nod32 without any doubt.

AV Comparatives list NOD32 as the best AV software of 2006.
http://www.av-comparatives.org/

www.nod32.com

 

You are not allowed to link directly to their stuff but anyway...

What was best last week is "only" 2nd this one so dont put too much into top X lists. Check out several lists and try to understand what they test for - and what matters with AV http://www.av-comparatives.org/ NOD32 actually lost top rank this time but reason is more technical than important. Read report behind numbers and it becomes more clear. Opposite most other review sites they do make an effort in laying out why/why not/details.

Avira/Antivir is on level with the best and is free - except you wont get Spyware protection. Add Windows Defender etc.

Avast is also nice but does not have heuristics like Antivir. Check "Pro-Active" results. Will always haunt it in comparisons, very important feature. On the other hand it would take over market with NOD32/Avira like heuristics! AVG, well I dont like it too much and free version is not the same as tested. Avast free has same good protection as "Pro".

I just bought Kaspersky and not just because of reviews. Has some nifty extras like helping make a rescue cd, some system/registry monitoring and "HIPS" features. Runs as light as NOD32 but with better interface. Because of some clever tricks you can read about at their site it is very fast. Also since I like betas and some tinkering it is nice to see they have such an active forum - all counts. I dont mind recommending Kaspersky but quite easy to get high security for free.

AOL offer a free AV based on Kaspersky engine btw. That and Avira will most likely blow away Avast and definitely free AVG if you go by detection numbers only. The real Kaspersky offer more options of course but engine/detection should be identical.

Try them out, one at a time - free trials available for most if not all programs. If you find some features terrible what good is reviews and recommendations?

If you want a big fat package again, just to get it all, then check out new Zonealarm - AV part of that is also Kaspersky. Could be a good deal if you think of buying separate Anti-Spyware, Firewall and what not. I guess not too light with all elements enabled.

Actually Kaspersky initially did cause me some problems. XP not really happy to boot but got sorted out after a retry or 2. What happens with these type of programs, could have been minor conflict with whatever. I think there is a list of "compatible" firewalls at Kaspersky forum. Probably also matters if you test any other program. Test carefully and after the book.

 

For great free real-time protection, I use Avira's AntiVir, and for spyware I recommend Spyware Terminator or SpyCatcher Express. Throw Browser Hijack Retaliator 4.5 and Arovax Shield in there too, and you've got pretty solid protection. I used to have Avast running, but one day it ran away with my system resources and never came back!!! I've been using AntiVir ever since and I love it!

hopperdave2000

 

Hi:

I recommend either of these two:

AntiVir (free) http://majorgeeks.com/download955.html

Or

Avast! Home Edition (free)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Avast_Home_Edition_d1968.html

I use Avast! on my main rig and AntiVir on two other networked systems.

As a second scanner I use this:

a-squared (a²) Free edition http://www.majorgeeks.com/a-squared_a%B2_Free_edition_d4281.html

a-squared free doesn't run as resident in background, plays nice with AntiVir and Avast! and it scan/removes more types of malware than the usual av scanner.

Happy trailz,

 

I agree w/ the above A-Squared comments: it's a great scanner/remover that picks up ALOT more stuff than most similar apps.

 

Avast home edition is the best for me now. Have already used Kaspersky and Norton but two last are to heavy. Avast is great even because it can do its job insensibly for my system.

 

Very happy with Avast

 

Sorry, I don't seem to be able to edit my post to remove the link. confused

 

Higher powers can You linked to pdf-report which they really want people to read so no big crime. Guess they have that policy to avoid skipping over explanations etc. Like for example why NOD32 is no longer considered top ranked AV. More a technical ranking detail or result of test environment than anything else.

Also numbers at AV-Comparatives show you must only focus on current version. They have all had ups and downs. Im pretty sure AVG used to be the way to go, by far, some years ago. Avast was a pig on w9x. May be also on XP but not so much after 4.5 version which had major optimizations. Antivir was not much to write home about either. Kaspersky is building a new heuristic engine I believe - why they are a little behind right now. How it goes. Be careful about comparisons and old stories. Even with Antivir started to move up it was still not that popular everywhere because of too many false positives - potentially risky. They are practically gone today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antivirus explains why I dont use Avast any more. Considering Avast does not have these clever hooks and watch suspicious behavior all the time it is very good. Up until recently I was close to 100% sure it was enough for me but not so. Did not execute of course but got a virus through email and Avast approved it. Opposite those AVs which can smell trouble without actually knowing details - actually only Avira and NOD32 picked it up on arrival. Soon after Kaspersky. I checked with Virustotal http://www.virustotal.com/en/indexf.html every day until only 2 was left. Sad to say one of them was Avast, no. 2 Microsoft. I also sent file to Avast but still took them 1-2 weeks to update database. Increased awareness of how AV programs works and what I "need". Dont think I need anything but depends on how you define "safety" May be I open whatever next time...

 

I use Avast on my pc because it will run on a 64-bit system. I have used AVG free addition and have to say both are good programs.
You need to know that if you use another anti-virus program or security suite, you need to make you sure you fully un-install all of it's componets, or you might have issues with the system later.
Before you install the other anti-virus program, run nCleaner http://majorgeeks.com/nCleaner_Second_Generation_d5476.html in safe mode and remove all of Mcaffe's componets. This will give you a clean install with the new Anti-virus program.

 

AOL used to offer a Kasp. based engine, but they switched to McAffee. This really annoyed me because I was going to go w/ a Nod + AOL solution (The AOL-Kasp. engine received high marks for it's virus definitions and the Nod engine high marks for that word that begins with an "h" and no one knows how to spell in a comparison I saw). Now that AOL switched I'll have to go with something else, but preferably something that won't cost me money.

But from the sound of things on this forum I'll be safe going with a Nod + Anvir + a² trio. If I understood correctly those second 2 programs are free, right? And hopefully they'll play nicely together or I'll have to start cutting one out.

Actually, I'm not going to be switching to them right away; I'll let my current free 6-month subscriptions to Panada and Kasp. run out first, then upgrade.

 

Hi Logomachist:

Almost any experienced computer user will tell you NOT to use two anti-virus programs on the same system. Good advice.

Expect problems where you have two av programs as resident and scanning in background (you see their icons down in systray).
They pretty well always interfere with each other, often see each other as virii or highly suspect programs and report false positives.

I went over the line some earlier mentioning a-squared as a good second av program. It is in my experience but I only know it to be fine with the two main av programs I use. AntiVir or Avast!

To be clear, I have three (networked) sytsems. On my main XP Pro SP2 one I use Avast! + a-squared.
On my MCE2005 SP2 one I use AntiVir + a-squared.
On my XP HE SP2 one I again use AntiVir + a-squared.

I would not even attempt to have AntiVir and Avast! on the same system.
Both operate as resident/background scanners and I don't care to start a fight.

The free version of a-squared does not operate as a resident/background scanner, is manual only and I know it to work ok with either AntiVir or Avast!

I don't know how a-squared would behave with any other av program.

BTW, my main system also has a third party software firewall (ZoneAlarm v7x free), while the other 2 systems use the MS Windows Firewall (free) one, to compliment the hardware firewall in my router. Everyone plays nice with each other.

Happy trailz,

 

Im pretty sure current AOL offer is based on Kaspersky engine http://www.activevirusshield.com/antivirus/freeav/index.adp? - without the extras and options from real Kaspersky Im sure but guess only free AV to compete with Avira/Antivir if you only go by detection results.

I think at least Avast will detect known AVs and disable its own resident shield. Other programs probably do the same but does not mean they can work together. Look it up at forums of each program, have to be sure or you risk big trouble. I know from Avast that many use free Bitdefender as 2nd AV - does not come with resident shield so no problems installing/running. May be check out Bitdefender 10 as well - if not for Kaspersky I might have chosen that one. Nice new features.

If you look at those AVs with more than 1 engine they are not really better so not much use for more than 1 good AV.

 

http://www.pandasoftware.com/Home/Particulares/?sitepanda=particulares

In my long search for a better anti-virus program, I now use Panda Antivirus 2007. It is NOT a system resource hog, it's pretty comprehensive and has an easy user interface. You can get a trial version and if you like it, purchase a license for 2 machines for under $30.

Bitzy ... hth

 

I have been useing F-SECURE 2006 with all the updates since july last year and have had no problems untill today when after cleaning out all the rubbish from a bad download,

i downloaded FIREFOX (from MGs) and got the signal from f secure that my internet security was malfunctioning i can only think it is something to do with my firewall,
will look further.

this is not a new question just info

 

Hi there,
I'm no expert. But I had the same problem when i installed Firefox and Thunderbird last year.
The problem is that nearly all anti vir programs don't recognize a gecko engine which all Mozilla programs are run on. and hence think its a threat.
On the other hand i could be wrong.
and Microsoft programs esp window defenders picks up when it sences a change.
:wave

 

I restarted the computer this morning and for the moment all seems good.

i ran AVG last night after i had finished with my laptop it just found some tracking cookies i deleted them and now i will wait and see

 

yes these cookies can be a bugger lol
but firefox have got some loads of good extension which you can use to cut these cookies down to size.
These cookies are harmless though they just track your browsing history.
i all ways make sure ill delete all my cookies after a seesion though.

 

Ive been using Avast 4 Home with auto updates for last 2.5yrs on XP and now Vista Home Premium without any adverse effects, has support forums aswell. Worth ago and Free Roseman07 In Oz

 

or you can read up on tested anti virus products in http://computer shopper.co.uk where they tested with there virus and ad ware data bases.
:wave

 

Just to further confuse the picture (and illustrate that this is one of those areas where everybody has an opinion and you get to sort out which opinion is useful)....

I've been using Trend Micro's PC-cillin Internet Security ever since I dumped Norton AV three years ago because of its dishonesty in admitting technical problems. It's easier to use than NAV, and is much less demanding of system resources. It has caused me little grief, and even that grief was dealt with using TM's e-mail tech support -- even though the quality of that support is sometimes little better than Symantec's e-mail support. But at least, when TM's software can't do something, they'll admit it. That's more than I can say for Symantec.

PC-cillin Internet Security provides a full internet security package, including AV scanning and a useful software firewall. It also provides anti-spam and anti-adware and other features. A 30-day trial version can be downloaded from Trend Micro's website.

 

Even to confuse you more I'm trying out Kaspersky anti virus.
The only thing that i dont like about it is that i had a perfectly good comodo fire wall which it didnt like.
So I had to uninstall it and put with windows firewall.
But according to computer shopper it next too steganos anti virus as anti virus go.
and steganos is cheaper too.
but be warned its on the similar make up as kasp. and may or may not ask you to uninstall your firewall.

but if you know a good free firewall which it likes please let me know